Dhammapada verse 380
Chapter 25, Mendicants (Bhikkhuvagga) · verses 360–382
“Self is indeed the lord of self, for who else would be one’s lord? Self is indeed the home of self, so restrain yourself, as a merchant his thoroughbred steed.”
Attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā; Attā hi attano gati, tasmā saṁyamamattānaṁ; Assaṁ bhadraṁva vāṇijo.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 380 mean?
Verse 380 belongs to chapter 25, Mendicants (Bhikkhuvagga), which gathers verses 360–382 on the mendicant’s day. It is filed under self-discipline. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 379 and verse 381 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-three verses on the mendicant, meaning the monastic practitioner, and much of it is practical: restraint in the body, in speech and at the bowl, and contentment with what is giving. The chapter has less doctrine than chapter 24 and more description of how a day of practice is arranged.
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